In two prior articles, we addressed which provisions of a divorce decree could be modified after its entry and also covered a court’s ability to clarify a divorce decree in a contempt proceeding. This article delves into a court’s contempt powers with respect to a specific component of a divorce...
As a general rule, after expiration of a judgment’s term of entry, a Georgia court has no ability to modify or amend the judgment in any matter of substance or in any matter affecting the merits, unless authorized by statute.(1) A court, however, at any time can correct “[c]lerical mistakes in judgm...
Fair or unfair, just or unjust, once a final judgment and decree of divorce has been entered, and the limited time for seeking a new trial or appealing that judgment has passed, both parties ordinarily remain bound by the terms of that judgment. But what happens if one former spouse later discovers...
In Georgia divorce actions and other proceedings involving custody of minors, judges at times will interview children in chambers and then partly base their final custody decisions on the information obtained during those consultations. The parties or their counsel do not often witness those intervi...
Under certain circumstances, Georgia law has permitted courts or juries to utilize a party’s earning capacity rather than gross income to determine the amounts of child support, alimony, and attorney’s fees to award in divorce actions and other domestic cases.(1) One factor considered when analyzing...